Gillian Keegan: how’s the ‘hot mic’ thing gone down with you?

[Crinklycut]

For my part, I don’t think it was very ministerial, and I do wonder how No. 10 all talk to each other these days (do they just swear all the time?) BUT she is a bit right, isn’t she?

The DfE have finally acted to make the public aware that their children are not safe in school. That’s more than anyone else in the Conservative party has done since they cancelled ‘Building Schools for the Future’ in 2010 and during their 13 years of government.

So how’s it gone down with you?

Because I’m interested 🤷‍♂️

If it’s a collapse and people were hurt or there it’d likely be in the press

No one was in the building. Draw your own conclusions about whether that means it was a school, or not.

Bound to be prisons.

Kent was empty at the time but reported on

“There were signs of structural stress on Friday evening and the collapse occurred last evening (Saturday). The building was empty at the time’

Although that was the weekend so clearly people would know if not then by Monday

Maybe a school can fix it without it getting to local news but why it hasn’t come out I’m not sure

You seem to have missed the point that the risk of a school building collapsing and causing injury or death has been critical for years and was upgraded to critical - highly likely in 2022. They knew it was highly likely that a building would collapse. They thought that no buildings were at imminent risk. The collapse in the summer meant that the buildings that they knew were at risk but didn’t think were at imminent risk were actually at imminent risk.

The buildings were not considered safe, otherwise the risk of building collapse wouldn’t have been set at highly likely.

I am finding something very confusing. I understand that RAAC is considered to have a lifespan of 30 years.
So presumably all buildings with RAAC that were built in the 1950s,60s and 70s have already been replaced by the government long ago in a comphrehensive building programme?

Some of them will have been.

Obviously some that were meant to have been got their rebuild cancelled in 2010.

I think something like 38% of school buildings contain elements beyond their shelf life, not just RAAC.

And that’s before you even think about the asbestos.

No doubt the government has a comphensive plan to sort this out?

RAAC buildings can last longer if they're well maintained @jgw1

Labour launcher Building Schools For The Future in 2004.

The Tories cancelled it in 2010

Keir Starmer listed 13 schools earlier at PMQs that were due to be done under that 2004 scheme that haven't been done yet. 19 years later.

Because the Tory government cancelled it in 2010.

It’ll be interesting to see if anyone can sort it out without resorting to PFI to fund it

That was incredibly costly with huge mark ups, and it’s still being paid off now. Doing it through tax without private on top would be better value for money

When the government cancelled the school building programme, did they increase the amount of money available for maintenance to achieve longer life out of the existing building stock?

Details of the Dept for Education refurb costing £34 million!

I mean it is great that they are addressing diversity issues but was this really the best use of funding given the circumstances!

How many surveyors could you pay for with £34 million?

https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/dfe-staff-get-sensitive-office-makeover

"These features include “the availability of sensory spaces, improved lighting and acoustic properties and a muted colour palette”.

@jgw1

They did not.

The photos of the refurb of DfE offices….wow, just wow. I wish I could share photosof the shocking conditions staff and children work in, in some of our schools…
Schools with a ‘staffroom’ in a small corridor, HT’s ‘office’ at one end, admin/reception at the other ( and I mean in a 15ft corridor).
Schools where the toilet is also a stock room, piled with boxes because there is no storage.
Schools where a classroom has to be cleared at the end of every morning and set up again every afternoon so that there is space for lunch benches to be provided so that enough children can eat.
Schools where there is no main hall, every child has to be walked to the village hall for PE and for lunch every day, all weathers.
Classrooms with so many children that noone can get out of their seats and staff can't walk between tables.
Schools that flood sewerage because drains block…I could go on….

How odd.

Do they not believe in educating children?

@jgw1

Nah.

Well not our children.

The main thing they believe in is giving very juicy government contracts to their mates to deliver substandard products or services at far above market rate, paid for with our money.

So the government shouldn't be surprised that schools are falling down then.

@jgw1

They should not be surprised.

And they aren't.

They're just surprised "kicking the can down the road and try and leave it for the next lot" hasn't worked quite long enough.

Ah I think I understand.

That does though rather suggest they aren't expecting to be in government much longer.

"The accuracy of the government’s RAAC school data has been thrown into doubt after responsible bodies were wrongly told they had failed to complete surveys for the dangerous material.
Meanwhile other trusts have been unable to provide updated information about the presence of RAAC on their sites, while another had to tell the government it was missing from the official list, despite having the ‘crumbly concrete’"

Fucksake.

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/fears-over-dfe-raac-list-as-trusts-threatened-by-ministers/

So their list is probably wrong and she's been calling headteachers lazy who had actually filled out the survey.

But remember to applaud her for doing a good job 👍

This genuinely got a grin out of me

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2023/sep/06/does-anyone-ever-say-youve-done-a-f----good-job-the-stephen-collins-cartoon

@jgw1

I don't think anyone's expecting the Tories to be in government much longer

Tbh I assumed the government's list both included schools mistakenly and also was just the tip of the iceberg.

Well there are some of this parish who give a good impression that they think they will.